The business behind the show

After the coffee. Before deciding what the respectable time for sneaking out of the office is today.

The Skinny: Have a great July 4 and don't overdo it on the booze and let's not make any news today so we can all go home early. The Friday headlines include Mark Haperin's gaffe on MSNBC, box office predictions and AOL's ill-fated MoviePass.

Mark Halperin pulls a Jeff Spicoli. MSNBC on Thursday suspended indefinitely Mark Halperin, the Time magazine editor who often appears on the cable news channel as an analyst, after he described President Obama the same way "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" character Jeff Spicoli described Mr. Hand. Like Mr. Hand, Obama and MSNBC were not amused. Now in some cases, suspended indefinitely means a couple of days in the corner. However, this time it might mean, "See ya, wouldn't wanna be ya." Coverage from the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Daily Beast and Washington Post. Interestingly, President Obama was due to be at the home of a high-level Comcast executive for a fund-raiser Thursday night. Comcast, of course, is the parent of MSNBC.

Box office fireworks. What movie will you see this weekend? I think I'll be steering clear of the multiplex. I'm too old for "Transformers" and too young for "Larry Crowne." Is "Hobo with a Shotgun" still playing? Box office predictions from the Los Angeles Times and Hollywood Reporter.

Staying put. Media giants eagerly eyeing Scripps Networks Interactive, parent of Home & Garden Television and majority owner of the Food Network, will have to wait as the owners have quietly decided that now is not the time to sell and instead will launch a stock buyback to gobble up some shares that are coming available from a Scripps family trust. Details from the Wall Street Journal.

Pass revoked. MoviePass, an AOL initiative that sought to allow consumers to buy a monthly pass to any movie at a price of $50, bit the dust before it ever got off the ground. Part of the problem appears to have been never coordinating with theater chains who objected strongly to the idea of an outsider setting movie prices. Details on the debacle from Variety, the Wrap and Deadline Hollywood.